The Torca Experiment: A model of transdisciplinary project-work

All of Colombia's major cities have at least one higher education centre. However, this does not necessarily entail fair access to education for those living outside these cities' main urban areas. Moreover, financial difficulties and the problems inherent to a long commute are often insurmountable barriers for people who want to study but live in comparatively remote regions. To tackle this issue, the Universidad Nacional de Colombia (UNAL) created a particular admission program (PEAMA) to facilitate access to education in this less-favoured population sector. Since the academic interests of any population will be varied, the UNAL offers selected educational programs o through the PEAMA. Thus, professors and lecturers are sent to schools that effectively function as nodes of the UNAL in rural areas to allow students to complete the first four semesters of their program of choice. During the first semester of 2022, 15 people from the rural area of Torca in Bogotá decided to begin their higher education studies through the PEAMA. In total, seven different academic programs were chosen. To allow as many students as possible to complete their programs, a transdisciplinary project-based learning model focused on the particular social problems of the community was designed and implemented for that specific case. Thus, three multidisciplinary groups were created to accommodate the 15 students enrolled in the university through the PEAMA:  one for students from the literature and philology programs, one for students of economy, agronomy, and the social sciences, and, finally, one for engineering students. This article discusses the model and the first results obtained.